Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he plans to veto a controversial policy that would prevent the state from disciplining health care workers for spreading misinformation.
Dozens of bills landed on DeWine’s desk. Many are already signed, but some are on the cutting board.
At a press conference Friday, the governor said he intends to veto the following provisions: House Bill 315. Line-item vetoes are Mr. DeWine’s ability to choose which policies within the larger law should remain or be repealed.
Under this provision, the Department of Health and state medical and pharmacy boards can discipline licensed medical professionals for “expressing, publicly or privately,” medical opinions inconsistent with the state’s view. It stipulates that this is not possible.
“This would completely disempower our regulatory commission,” DeWine said.
For example, this could allow doctors to spread misinformation or overprescribe opioids without being punished for calling it their “opinion.”
“We believe it is extremely important to hold physicians to the standard of care when assessing whether they have committed misconduct,” the Medical Board Chairman said. Dr. Jonathan B. Fiebel added.
This policy was included in the unrelated HB 315, but it came from HB 73.
State Rep. Jennifer Gross (R-Westchester) and State Rep. Mike Lewczyk (R-Bazetta) said health care providers prescribe FDA-approved medications “determined to be medically necessary for the patient.” He proposed a bill that would prohibit this. Retaliation from health authorities or state licensing authorities.
This type of legislation has been introduced since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine became a phenomenon during the pandemic after several clinical trials went viral that later turned out to be false. The former is an antiparasitic drug commonly used to deworm horses, according to the FDA. The latter is typically used to treat malaria. FDA and CDC and many studies such as: New England Medical Journal, He said ivermectin was “completely ineffective” in reducing the risk of hospitalization.
In 2021, a woman sued a Cincinnati hospital for refusing to give her husband ivermectin to treat COVID-19. The woman who died had not been vaccinated. The judge sided with the hospital, saying there was no evidence that ivermectin was effective.
However, other provisions within HB 73: [workers’] the right to free medical speech,” bill sponsors said.
“Despite the fact that health officials continue to urge the public to ‘trust your doctors,’ some doctors are being attacked for their prescribing choices,” Gross said in his testimony. .
Some experts have faced backlash for their actions during the pandemic.
Among them is Shelly Tenpenny, a Cleveland doctor who falsely claimed that the COVID-19 vaccine could magnetize people and connect them to 5G towers.
She was investigated by the state medical board and later suspended for refusing to cooperate with the investigation, the commission said. Her license was reinstated.
Possibility of another veto
While a medical free speech veto is likely, DeWine is also considering repealing another provision of HB 315. This would allow law enforcement to charge people money to access body cameras and other videos.
“I’m a strong supporter of police cameras and I’ve seen their widespread use and I think it’s best practice, but it will lead to more film and video being produced.” said the governor when we asked the question. Transparency concerns.
States and cities could charge people the “estimated cost” of processing the video, which would have to be paid before the footage is made public. The government can charge up to $75 per hour for work, with a fee cap of $750 per request.
“Why should we incur costs to help the public understand what’s going on?” we asked the governor.
“Again, there are nearly 1,000 police departments in Ohio, some of them very small,” DeWine said. “I haven’t made a decision yet on what this amendment will do, but I think what this amendment will do is allow us to recover some of the costs involved. This is a huge burden.”
He said he is considering each bill on his desk.
“Our team looks over every bill to make sure there are no surprises or anything we weren’t aware of before,” he said.
DeWine has 10 business days after receiving each bill to sign or veto them.
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